An etymology of love
by bacchus in vines
Summary: "It's always better when we're together." A series of mini-fics on the evolution of love. Eventual NaLu.
1. Origins

**et·y·mol·o·gy**

/ˌetəˈmäləjē/

_noun_

_1. the study of the origin of words and the way in which their meanings have changed throughout history._

**love**

/ləv/

_noun_

_1. an intense feeling of deep affection._

___2. _a person or thing that one loves.

_verb_

___1. _feel a deep romantic or sexual attachment to (someone).

Origins: Old Fiorian lufian "to love, cherish, show love to; delight in, approve," from Proto-Minstrelian *lubojan (cf. Old High Minstrel lubon, Minstrel lieben), from root of love (n.). Related: Loved; loving.*

* * *

In the beginning, Lucy's knowledge of _Love_ is mostly encapsulated in the dreamy romance novels she carefully filches from Mrs. Spetto's bedside table, as the Heartfilia library's extensive collection of literature was mostly comprised of classics celebrating honor and duty. Leafing through the well-worn books, Lucy imagines the powerful rogues and plucky heroines and she imagines what a life full of freedom, magic, adventure and passionate kisses might be like. Sighing, sometimes she would clutch the books to her chest and try to imagine what life might be like outside of the vast Heartfilia estates and sumptuous parties.

Lucy knows that these books are silly fantasy. In her life so far, Lucy has met many princes and counts, and rarely do they resemble the dashing and handsome men the books describe. Guts and bad manners abound, and the Prince of Seven, though handsome, is an unbearable prick, so utterly full of himself that Lucy feels like he would be a most unsuitable partner for adventure. Reality, though, is a harder pill to swallow – Lucy knows that she is expected to do her duty as the Heiress of the Heartfilia Konzern and marry one of her rich royal suitors, and that _Love_ will not be part of the deal.

It is not the prospect of a loveless marriage that terrifies Lucy. After all, Lucy knows that there is a dark side to love because she has seen it, felt it. She thinks that losing love might be worse than having had love at all. She remembers, fleetingly, how deeply her father loved her mother; how his face would light up when they were altogether, how he became more alive every minute he spent in her mama's presence. Lucy knows the danger of the death of love, how it turns papas into strangers who seem to have never been capable of love at all.

The day that Lucy hears of her engagement, she understands, with the utter certainty of a teenager, that her father must not love her anymore. The warm care of the servants cannot fill the void where her parents' _love_ once bloomed and filled her heart. Lucy takes action: she casts off her silly fantasies of _Love_ and decides to rescue herself from a fate worse than death, and grabs her keys and plots her escape. She does not need to wait for a prince to achieve her share of magic and adventure.

* * *

Quick notes: Obviously, I do not own fairy tail or it's characters, and this is a simple fanwork. Also, the (slightly modified) definitions above are taken from online dictionary of etymology.


	2. Family

fam·i·ly

/'fam(ə)lē/

noun: **family**

_1. a group consisting of parents and children living together in a household. _

_2. a group of people related to one another by blood or marriage. _

_3. the children of a person or couple. a person or people related to one and so to be treated with a special loyalty or intimacy. 4. a group of people united in criminal activity._

Origins: In Fioran, sense of "collective body of persons who form one household under one head and one domestic government, including parents, children, and servants, and as sometimes used even lodgers or boarders"

* * *

In the beginning, Natsu knows love that is fiery and fiercely protective: the love of family, of a father and a son. Every day, he wakes up curled against scales and then he is awake and ready for a new day. Igneel is pretty much the coolest dad ever. Natsu breathes hot fire and plays in the sun with his dad and is pretty sure that every day is just the greatest day, especially compared to the one before.

One day, Natsu wakes up and Igneel isn't there anymore. Natsu waits around for a bit because he knows that his dad loves him so much that he would never leave him for good. After a few more days of waiting, Natsu gets reallllly bored. So Natsu figures, if Igneel isn't ready to come back yet, he'll go find Igneel instead! Igneel is a bit harder to find than he expected though, but he doesn't really have time to feel sad. Before he knows it, Makarov has pulled him into Fairy Tail. It's the first time that Natsu can remember where he is surrounded by people who look like him. Most of them are pretty cool, he thinks, except for maybe that icy droopy-eyed bastard.

Time passes, and Fairy Tail becomes a new family. His nakama never give him enough space to feel sad about losing Igneel, and sometimes they help him out by passing him leads about fiery beasts and scaly monsters. They fight him, they make him laugh, Erza makes him cry, and he is never alone and his heart continues to burn with a fire that Igneel helped to light – life would be just that much better if he could bring Igneel into the fold. When new guild members come, he makes sure to welcome them into this fiery family by welcoming them with a big fiery brawl.

Lisanna is pretty cool too, and when they discover the egg Natsu's pretty pumped. Maybe he could be a Dragon's dad, just like Igneel! Or maybe the Dragon could help him find Igneel?! He is more surprised than disappointed when the egg hatches and a tiny blue kitten with wings emerges instead of a scaly salamander, and then he has Happy so he is never alone. Natsu loves Happy a lot, and Happy loves him so it's cool. He loves Makarov, and Lisanna, and Macao's cute little kid Romeo, and Erza, and Elfman, and Mira, and Cana, and Laxus although he think's he'll like Laxus a lot more when Natsu has finally beat him, proving that he is the strongest!

And he spends his days playing, and eating, and fighting, and training, and searching, and going on adventures and he thinks that there's not really anything else he might need to be happy in the world. Then Lisanna dies, and Fairy Tail's happy little world is devastated for a time.

Time heals most wounds, and it is on the upside of time that Macao and Wakaba and Gildarts stage a quick intervention to make sure Natsu is up to speed with EVERYTHING that teenage boys get up to. Natsu knows a bit about love and about sex, knows that Gray like to peek into the girl's baths, that Reedus can't handle rejection and that Laxus has left a trail of broken hearts and satisfied bodies littered across Magnolia because all the guys talk about that crap all the time in the baths. But he's also seen those old guys strike out, seen the slaps and the tears and that time Macao almost lost Romeo in the custody battle that followed.

He's seen Erza cry when she comes back from the council meetings, and he knows, deep in his heart, that anything that can make someone as scary as Erza cry is dangerous stuff. This love business, the kind that seems to make men and women both crazy, is more trouble than it's worth. And then these men who he admires tell him about the game, and he knows it's not something he wants to play.

So Natsu takes the dirty magazines that are shoved at him ("It's time you understand the romance of the Female Body" Gildarts trills as he hands them over). But he sees how weird his family gets when "romance" gets involved, how Alzack and Bisca dance strange circles around each other and seem farther apart than before. He remembers Lisanna's blushes near the end, and how sometimes she would get mad at him or cry for things he could never understand. He's had enough heartache in his life, and even boobs aren't worth it.

Natsu doesn't want to make girls cry or try to play games he can't understand, and he thinks it's a lot less trouble to enjoy looking at naked girls in the pictures under he's stashed in a messy pile by his hammock. He only wants to have and fight, get strong enough to beat Erza (and Laxus and Gildarts), and find Igneel, and have fun and go on adventures and missions with Happy.

* * *

_Notes: Still a fanwork. I do not own Fairy Tail. Modified etymology and definitions from Online Dictionary and Online Etymology Dictionary. Whoops, this chapter DID NOT upload properly the first time, sorry guys._


	3. Boyfriend

boy·friend

/ˈboiˌfrend/

_noun_

noun: **boyfriend**;

**1**.

a regular male companion with whom one has a romantic or sexual relationship.

Origins: "woman's paramour," from boy + friend (n.).

* * *

Lucy has made a few friends since she ran away. Girls that help her to pick out the short skirts and cleavage bearing tops that once upon a time she was forbidden to wear, who help her style her hair in the latest fashions and to bat her eyelashes just so to get whatever she wants. Girls who chitter and chatter about the cute boys in town and who they wish would be their boyfriends. Lucy joins in with gusto: she LOVES cute boys. She is also a quick study – in no time at all Lucy has half the boys drooling after her hot body. Lucy just loves it when cute boys love her too.

The girls are surprised when they hear Lucy has never had a real boyfriend (she conveniently leaves out the bit about the potential husband: she never asked for him anyways.). Lucy likes the idea of having a boyfriend, someone to buy her things and fawn over her beauty. Sometimes she tears out pictures from Weekly Sorcerer Magazine for her boyfriend book – Siegrain on the Magic Council is particularly dreamy. She imagines what life might be like as his girlfriend: modeling shoots and fast lacrima-cars and fun parties. But the boys in town always complain on dates that she plans on leaving.

It's fun to play at being a normal girl, but Lucy longs for adventure, to find more keys and maybe to even one day join the guild that seems like it has so much fun, Fairy Tail. She promises to stay in touch and moves to the next town.

Lucy still thinks it would be nice to have a boyfriend, if she had the time. Meanwhile, she hones the Lucy-kick on those who get a bit too fresh with her (just because she is sexy does not mean perverts have an all access pass), looks for keys and cuts out pictures of cute mages for her boyfriend book. Maybe, she thinks, she likes the idea of having a boyfriend more than she wants the real thing. Maybe a companion for an adventure might just be enough - it would be so much fun to join a guild and get better at magic.

The boyfriends could wait until she joined a place like Fairytail

... However, the boys should still want to be her boyfriend. It's not like she can't get a boyfriend, okay?! It's just that Lucy is currently, just for this little moment, waiting for her and Siegrain's (or other suitably magical boyfriend candidate) perfect meeting... But after she joins Fairy Tail, of course.

* * *

Notes: Do not own Fairy Tail. Did you catch the FT fun facts? All definitions / etymology may be slightly modified, and comes from the online dictionary and the online dictionary of etymology.


End file.
